US20060037659A1 - Inflatable pipe test probe - Google Patents

Inflatable pipe test probe Download PDF

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Publication number
US20060037659A1
US20060037659A1 US10/530,282 US53028205A US2006037659A1 US 20060037659 A1 US20060037659 A1 US 20060037659A1 US 53028205 A US53028205 A US 53028205A US 2006037659 A1 US2006037659 A1 US 2006037659A1
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United States
Prior art keywords
bladder
probe
pipe
inflatable
size
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Abandoned
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US10/530,282
Inventor
Terence Gillam
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Individual
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Individual
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    • FMECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16LPIPES; JOINTS OR FITTINGS FOR PIPES; SUPPORTS FOR PIPES, CABLES OR PROTECTIVE TUBING; MEANS FOR THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16L55/00Devices or appurtenances for use in, or in connection with, pipes or pipe systems
    • F16L55/16Devices for covering leaks in pipes or hoses, e.g. hose-menders
    • F16L55/162Devices for covering leaks in pipes or hoses, e.g. hose-menders from inside the pipe
    • F16L55/1645Devices for covering leaks in pipes or hoses, e.g. hose-menders from inside the pipe a sealing material being introduced inside the pipe by means of a tool moving in the pipe
    • FMECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16LPIPES; JOINTS OR FITTINGS FOR PIPES; SUPPORTS FOR PIPES, CABLES OR PROTECTIVE TUBING; MEANS FOR THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16L55/00Devices or appurtenances for use in, or in connection with, pipes or pipe systems
    • F16L55/10Means for stopping flow from or in pipes or hoses
    • F16L55/12Means for stopping flow from or in pipes or hoses by introducing into the pipe a member expandable in situ
    • F16L55/128Means for stopping flow from or in pipes or hoses by introducing into the pipe a member expandable in situ introduced axially into the pipe or hose
    • F16L55/132Means for stopping flow from or in pipes or hoses by introducing into the pipe a member expandable in situ introduced axially into the pipe or hose the closure device being a plug fixed by radially deforming the packing
    • F16L55/134Means for stopping flow from or in pipes or hoses by introducing into the pipe a member expandable in situ introduced axially into the pipe or hose the closure device being a plug fixed by radially deforming the packing by means of an inflatable packing
    • GPHYSICS
    • G01MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01MTESTING STATIC OR DYNAMIC BALANCE OF MACHINES OR STRUCTURES; TESTING OF STRUCTURES OR APPARATUS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G01M3/00Investigating fluid-tightness of structures
    • G01M3/005Investigating fluid-tightness of structures using pigs or moles
    • FMECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16LPIPES; JOINTS OR FITTINGS FOR PIPES; SUPPORTS FOR PIPES, CABLES OR PROTECTIVE TUBING; MEANS FOR THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16L2101/00Uses or applications of pigs or moles
    • F16L2101/30Inspecting, measuring or testing
    • FMECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16LPIPES; JOINTS OR FITTINGS FOR PIPES; SUPPORTS FOR PIPES, CABLES OR PROTECTIVE TUBING; MEANS FOR THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16L2101/00Uses or applications of pigs or moles
    • F16L2101/60Stopping leaks

Definitions

  • THIS INVENTION relates to an inflatable pipe test probe suitable for hydrostatic testing of pipes for leaks and simultaneous interior examination of the pipe using a camera.
  • the present invention comprises a flexible probe for sealing a pipe or applying a patch
  • the probe comprising an inflatable bladder and camera assembled in series at a distal end of a cable and hose, the cable and hose being used to feed the probe down a pipe in a feed direction and retract the probe in the opposite direction
  • the inflatable bladder comprising an elongate annular bladder surrounding the cable with the camera at the head, the camera providing an advance view in the feed direction
  • the probe being flexible and able to pass down a pipe and deform to pass around corners in the pipe while carrying a tubular patch and upon inflation seal or patch the pipe.
  • the inflatable bladder preferably comprises a cylindrical elastic bladder sealed airtight at opposite ends and being biassed to expand medially.
  • the inflatable bladder preferably has spaced sealing ribs distributed along its length. Different bladders are designed to suit different pipe sizes and to increase the life of the bladder is in use inflated to a predetermined pressure and size at that pressure. Thus it is preferable that a bladder is designed to suit a particular pipe size and in use is inflated to a predetermined pressure and size at that pressure so that its operation within the pipe is predictable and to specification.
  • the present invention resides in a pipe test probe comprising an inflatable seal and camera assembled in series at a distal end of a cable and hose used to feed the probe down a pipe in a feed direction and retract the probe in the opposite direction, the inflatable seal comprising an elongate annular bladder surrounding the cable with the camera at the head and providing an advance view in the feed direction, the probe being flexible and able to pass down a pipe and deform to pass around corners in the pipe and upon inflation to seal the pipe for static test purposes.
  • the inflatable seal comprises a cylindrical elastic bladder sealed airtight at opposite ends and being biassed to expand medially by reason of medially thinned wall section or sections.
  • the wall has protruding sealing ribs distributed along its length. The sealing ribs are preferably evenly spaced.
  • the bladder is designed to suit different pipe sizes and to increase the life of the bladder is in use inflated to a predetermined pressure and size at that pressure.
  • the bladder has a 40 mm outside diameter in its relaxed state and is inflatable to 114 mm at a maximum pressure of between 10 psi to 15 psi.
  • the outside diameter would be 60 mm typically and 164 mm outside diameter when inflated to the 10 psi to 15 psi pressure.
  • Any suitable elastic material may be used, particularly those materials suitable to repeated inflation and deflation in a hydrostatic pipe testing environment.
  • a probe for remote patching of damaged pipes comprising an inflatable patch applicator and camera assembled in series at a distal end of a cable and hose used to feed the probe down a pipe in a feed direction and retract the probe in the opposite direction, the inflatable patch applicator comprising an elongate annular bladder surrounding the cable with the camera at the head, the camera providing an advance view in the feed direction, a tubular open ended adhesive patch surrounding the bladder and upon inflation of the bladder in situ to a predetermined pressure the bladder applies the patch and bulges out the open ends of the patch to dress the ends of the patch.
  • a system for in situ remote patching of pipes comprising an adhesive applicator jig for onsite application of adhesive to a tubular patch mounted on a flexible inflatable patch applicator probe located at the distal end of a flexible feed cable, the jig comprising a hollow former sandwiched between the probe and patch to stabilise same while the adhesive is being applied and then being slidably removable before the patch and probe are fed into a pipe.
  • FIG. 1 a schematic drawing illustrating the probe being used
  • FIG. 2 is a part cut away view illustrating the probe in position in a pipe prior to inflation
  • FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating the probe in position, inflated and sealing the pipe.
  • FIG. 4 is a drawing illustrating a jig for loading a probe with a resin saturated patch
  • FIGS. and 5 and 6 demonstrate the process by which the patch is loaded onto an inflatable probe
  • FIGS. 7 to 10 illustrate the use of the probe to apply the patch, the broken pipe break having being located either using the video camera or using the static test procedure.
  • FIG. 1 there is illustrated a test probe 10 according to the invention where an operator 11 manually feeds the probe 10 along a pipe 12 by reason of an air tube 13 and CCTV cable 14 .
  • the operator may view the output from camera head 15 on the probe 10 via video monitor 16 .
  • the probe 10 has a elongate flexible body 16 so that it may deform to pass around corners in the pipe 12 as typically illustrated at 17 . This construction of the probe will be described in greater detail in relation to the drawings.
  • the probe 10 is positioned at a desired position in the pipe 12 and inflated to perform a static test by back filling the pipe 12 from the probe and progressively testing for leakage by stepwise inflation and deflation of the probe 10 as it is withdrawn using normal hydrostatic test procedures.
  • the probe 10 comprises the camera head 15 and elongate body 16 which comprises in this case an elastic bladder 18 designed for testing 100 mm pipe.
  • the size will vary for different pipe sizes.
  • the bladder 18 has thickened marginal edge portions 19 and 20 at opposite ends so that when inflated it preferentially expands medially as shown in FIG. 3 .
  • stainless steel rigid couplings 21 and 22 rigidly secure the fittings for the camera head 15 and the cable 14 and air tube 13 to the bladder 18 by clamping rings 22 and 23 respectively.
  • the bladder has sealing ridges 24 distributed evenly along its length.
  • the bladder 18 has an uninflated outside diameter of 40 mm and may be expanded to a designed external diameter of 114 mm at 10 psi to 15 psi inflation pressure. This would effectively seal the 100 mm pipe in use.
  • a probe of the present type may be utilised to apply a patch to the break referring to FIGS. 5 to 10 this aspect will be described.
  • a resin saturated cylindrical patch is applied to the interior of a pipe using the expandable bladder to force the patch onto the interior wall of the pipe to affect the patch.
  • the present illustrated embodiment a probe 550 mm long is utilised, the camera being used to view the break and then the probe being moved an additional 350 mm from the head of the camera to centre the patch on the break.
  • FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 illustrate a process whereby resin may be applied to the patch.
  • the patch may be of any suitable type utilised and commonly applied to the lining pipes cut to appropriate length and the resin being applied on site, any suitable resin for plumbing applications may be used, typically two part apoxy/polyamines suited to a plumbing environment may be utilised and for under water application. It is preferable that it be low viscosity and there be a relatively short curing time, typically touch dry in two hours at 25° C. and hard at 12 hours at 25° C.
  • the base is typically an epoxy resin liquid polymer base at 40-70%, the cure being Aminated Oligomer 20-50%.
  • the jig 25 includes a drum section 26 , a hanger 27 , a clamp 28 , a former tube 29 and a release pin 30 .
  • the release pin 30 enables the former tube 29 to drop into the drum, the former tube 29 is sized to enable a probe 31 to be positioned in the former tube with the patch material fastened to the probe by a rubber band 33 positioned just above the upper edge of the former tube 29 as illustrated in FIG. 5 .
  • the resin mix is applied to the patch material while it is on the former to saturate the patch and after the former is dropped into the drum 26 the rubber bands 34 and 35 are positioned as illustrated in FIG. 6 .
  • the patch tube material 32 includes an internal polyurethane lining so that the resin does not come into contact with the probe.
  • a suitable patch material is Brawoliner available from RS TECHNIK AG werkstrasse 9 CH 8627 Gruningen (www.rstechnik.com)
  • a release agent of any suitable type may be sprayed onto the probe before the resin is applied.
  • FIGS. 7, 8 , 9 and 10 illustrate the application of the patch, the breaking of the rubber bands and the removal of the probe with the patch in place.
  • the probe length is selected to suit the pipe size and length of break.
  • the probe expands the same way as the test probe but the applied pressure and the configuration is different.
  • the probe is medially thin so that it expands centrally and in the illustrated embodiment, the applicant drives the probe to 20 psi and this has the effect of initially driving the patch in its medial region into contact with the pipe and then as the probe further expands it will fill the entire pipe and will bulge at each end as illustrated in FIG. 9 .
  • this annular bulging is to dress the edge of the patch to provide a small taper by reason of the probe bulging in the longitudinal direction beyond the opposite ends of the patch.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Endoscopes (AREA)

Abstract

A probe (10) may be used to test or patch pipes where an operator (11) manually feeds the probe (10) along a pipe (12) by reason of an air tube (13) and CCTV cable (14). The operator may view via screen (16) the output from camera head (15) on the probe (10). The camera views the interior of a pipe in the direction of feed. The probe (10) has an elongate flexible body (16) so that it may deform to pass around corners in the pipe and be inflated to seal or apply patches.

Description

    FIELD OF THE INVENTION
  • THIS INVENTION relates to an inflatable pipe test probe suitable for hydrostatic testing of pipes for leaks and simultaneous interior examination of the pipe using a camera.
  • SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
  • In one broad aspect the present invention comprises a flexible probe for sealing a pipe or applying a patch, the probe comprising an inflatable bladder and camera assembled in series at a distal end of a cable and hose, the cable and hose being used to feed the probe down a pipe in a feed direction and retract the probe in the opposite direction, the inflatable bladder comprising an elongate annular bladder surrounding the cable with the camera at the head, the camera providing an advance view in the feed direction, the probe being flexible and able to pass down a pipe and deform to pass around corners in the pipe while carrying a tubular patch and upon inflation seal or patch the pipe. The inflatable bladder preferably comprises a cylindrical elastic bladder sealed airtight at opposite ends and being biassed to expand medially. The inflatable bladder preferably has spaced sealing ribs distributed along its length. Different bladders are designed to suit different pipe sizes and to increase the life of the bladder is in use inflated to a predetermined pressure and size at that pressure. Thus it is preferable that a bladder is designed to suit a particular pipe size and in use is inflated to a predetermined pressure and size at that pressure so that its operation within the pipe is predictable and to specification.
  • In a preferred aspect the present invention resides in a pipe test probe comprising an inflatable seal and camera assembled in series at a distal end of a cable and hose used to feed the probe down a pipe in a feed direction and retract the probe in the opposite direction, the inflatable seal comprising an elongate annular bladder surrounding the cable with the camera at the head and providing an advance view in the feed direction, the probe being flexible and able to pass down a pipe and deform to pass around corners in the pipe and upon inflation to seal the pipe for static test purposes.
  • Typically the inflatable seal comprises a cylindrical elastic bladder sealed airtight at opposite ends and being biassed to expand medially by reason of medially thinned wall section or sections. Preferably the wall has protruding sealing ribs distributed along its length. The sealing ribs are preferably evenly spaced.
  • Preferably the bladder is designed to suit different pipe sizes and to increase the life of the bladder is in use inflated to a predetermined pressure and size at that pressure. In one form suited to a 100 mm pipe, the bladder has a 40 mm outside diameter in its relaxed state and is inflatable to 114 mm at a maximum pressure of between 10 psi to 15 psi. In the case of 150 mm pipe, the outside diameter would be 60 mm typically and 164 mm outside diameter when inflated to the 10 psi to 15 psi pressure. Any suitable elastic material may be used, particularly those materials suitable to repeated inflation and deflation in a hydrostatic pipe testing environment.
  • In another aspect there is provided a probe for remote patching of damaged pipes, the probe comprising an inflatable patch applicator and camera assembled in series at a distal end of a cable and hose used to feed the probe down a pipe in a feed direction and retract the probe in the opposite direction, the inflatable patch applicator comprising an elongate annular bladder surrounding the cable with the camera at the head, the camera providing an advance view in the feed direction, a tubular open ended adhesive patch surrounding the bladder and upon inflation of the bladder in situ to a predetermined pressure the bladder applies the patch and bulges out the open ends of the patch to dress the ends of the patch.
  • In another aspect there is provided a system for in situ remote patching of pipes, the system comprising an adhesive applicator jig for onsite application of adhesive to a tubular patch mounted on a flexible inflatable patch applicator probe located at the distal end of a flexible feed cable, the jig comprising a hollow former sandwiched between the probe and patch to stabilise same while the adhesive is being applied and then being slidably removable before the patch and probe are fed into a pipe.
  • BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
  • In order that the present invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate one preferred embodiment of the invention as suited to 100 mm pipe testing.
  • FIG. 1 a schematic drawing illustrating the probe being used;
  • FIG. 2 is a part cut away view illustrating the probe in position in a pipe prior to inflation; and
  • FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating the probe in position, inflated and sealing the pipe.
  • FIG. 4 is a drawing illustrating a jig for loading a probe with a resin saturated patch;
  • FIGS. and 5 and 6 demonstrate the process by which the patch is loaded onto an inflatable probe; and
  • FIGS. 7 to 10 illustrate the use of the probe to apply the patch, the broken pipe break having being located either using the video camera or using the static test procedure.
  • METHOD OF PERFORMANCE
  • Referring to the drawings and initially to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a test probe 10 according to the invention where an operator 11 manually feeds the probe 10 along a pipe 12 by reason of an air tube 13 and CCTV cable 14. The operator may view the output from camera head 15 on the probe 10 via video monitor 16. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the probe 10 has a elongate flexible body 16 so that it may deform to pass around corners in the pipe 12 as typically illustrated at 17. This construction of the probe will be described in greater detail in relation to the drawings.
  • In order to test the pipe 12, the probe 10 is positioned at a desired position in the pipe 12 and inflated to perform a static test by back filling the pipe 12 from the probe and progressively testing for leakage by stepwise inflation and deflation of the probe 10 as it is withdrawn using normal hydrostatic test procedures.
  • Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the probe 10 is illustrated in greater detail and like numerals have been used to illustrate like features. The probe 10 comprises the camera head 15 and elongate body 16 which comprises in this case an elastic bladder 18 designed for testing 100 mm pipe. The size will vary for different pipe sizes. The bladder 18 has thickened marginal edge portions 19 and 20 at opposite ends so that when inflated it preferentially expands medially as shown in FIG. 3. At opposite ends of the bladder, stainless steel rigid couplings 21 and 22 rigidly secure the fittings for the camera head 15 and the cable 14 and air tube 13 to the bladder 18 by clamping rings 22 and 23 respectively. The bladder has sealing ridges 24 distributed evenly along its length.
  • In the illustrated embodiment the bladder 18 has an uninflated outside diameter of 40 mm and may be expanded to a designed external diameter of 114 mm at 10 psi to 15 psi inflation pressure. This would effectively seal the 100 mm pipe in use.
  • Once a break has been located, a probe of the present type may be utilised to apply a patch to the break referring to FIGS. 5 to 10 this aspect will be described. A resin saturated cylindrical patch is applied to the interior of a pipe using the expandable bladder to force the patch onto the interior wall of the pipe to affect the patch. The present illustrated embodiment a probe 550 mm long is utilised, the camera being used to view the break and then the probe being moved an additional 350 mm from the head of the camera to centre the patch on the break.
  • FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 illustrate a process whereby resin may be applied to the patch. The patch may be of any suitable type utilised and commonly applied to the lining pipes cut to appropriate length and the resin being applied on site, any suitable resin for plumbing applications may be used, typically two part apoxy/polyamines suited to a plumbing environment may be utilised and for under water application. It is preferable that it be low viscosity and there be a relatively short curing time, typically touch dry in two hours at 25° C. and hard at 12 hours at 25° C. The base is typically an epoxy resin liquid polymer base at 40-70%, the cure being Aminated Oligomer 20-50%. A suitable product is available from NMP, Unit 1910 Miltiadis St, Acacia Ridge, Qld Australia (www.nmp-pty.com.au). As can be seem from FIG. 4 the jig 25 includes a drum section 26, a hanger 27, a clamp 28, a former tube 29 and a release pin 30. The release pin 30 enables the former tube 29 to drop into the drum, the former tube 29 is sized to enable a probe 31 to be positioned in the former tube with the patch material fastened to the probe by a rubber band 33 positioned just above the upper edge of the former tube 29 as illustrated in FIG. 5. The resin mix is applied to the patch material while it is on the former to saturate the patch and after the former is dropped into the drum 26 the rubber bands 34 and 35 are positioned as illustrated in FIG. 6. It will be. appreciated that the patch tube material 32 includes an internal polyurethane lining so that the resin does not come into contact with the probe. A suitable patch material is Brawoliner available from RS TECHNIK AG werkstrasse 9 CH 8627 Gruningen (www.rstechnik.com) As a matter of process a release agent of any suitable type may be sprayed onto the probe before the resin is applied. Once the resin mix is applied and just prior to entry into the pipe to be repaired each of the rubber bands 33, 34, and 35 are cut part way through so that the rubber bands will break as the probe expands to force the patch material into engagement with the pipe.
  • FIGS. 7, 8, 9 and 10 illustrate the application of the patch, the breaking of the rubber bands and the removal of the probe with the patch in place.
  • In the present case, the probe length is selected to suit the pipe size and length of break. The probe expands the same way as the test probe but the applied pressure and the configuration is different. The probe is medially thin so that it expands centrally and in the illustrated embodiment, the applicant drives the probe to 20 psi and this has the effect of initially driving the patch in its medial region into contact with the pipe and then as the probe further expands it will fill the entire pipe and will bulge at each end as illustrated in FIG. 9. this annular bulging is to dress the edge of the patch to provide a small taper by reason of the probe bulging in the longitudinal direction beyond the opposite ends of the patch.
  • Whilst the above has been given by way of illustrative example of the present invention, many variations and modifications thereto will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the broad ambit and scope of the invention as herein set out in the appended claims.

Claims (28)

1. A flexible probe for sealing a pipe or applying a patch, the probe comprising an inflatable bladder and camera assembled in series at a distal end of a cable and hose, the cable and hose being used to feed the probe down a pipe in a feed direction and retract the probe in the opposite direction, the inflatable bladder comprising an elongate annular bladder surrounding the cable with the camera at the head, the camera providing an advance view in the feed direction, the probe being flexible and able to pass down a pipe and deform to pass around corners in the pipe while carrying a tubular patch and upon inflation seal or patch the pipe.
2. A probe according to claim 1 wherein the inflatable bladder comprises a cylindrical elastic bladder sealed airtight at opposite ends and being biassed to expand medially.
3. A probe according to claim 1 wherein the inflatable bladder has spaced sealing ribs distributed along its length.
4. A probe according to claim 1 wherein the bladder is designed to suit a particular pipe size and in use is inflated to a predetermined pressure and size at that pressure.
5. A probe according to claim 1 wherein the inflatable bladder comprises a cylindrical elastic bladder sealed airtight at opposite ends and being biassed to expand medially, the inflatable bladder having spaced sealing ribs distributed along its length.
6. A probe according to claim 1 wherein the inflatable bladder comprises a cylindrical elastic bladder sealed airtight at opposite ends and being biassed to expand medially, the bladder being designed to suit a particular pipe size and in use is inflated to a predetermined pressure and size at that pressure.
7. A probe according to claim 1 wherein the inflatable bladder has spaced sealing ribs distributed along its length, the bladder being designed to suit a particular pipe size and in use is inflated to a predetermined pressure and size at that pressure.
8. A pipe test probe comprising an inflatable seal and camera assembled in series at a distal end of a cable and hose used to feed the probe down a pipe in a feed direction and retract the probe in the opposite direction, the inflatable seal comprising an elongate annular bladder surrounding the cable with the camera at the head and providing an advance view in the feed direction, the probe being flexible and able to pass down a pipe and deform to pass around corners in the pipe and upon inflation to seal the pipe for static test purposes.
9. A probe according to claim 8 wherein the inflatable bladder comprises a cylindrical elastic bladder sealed airtight at opposite ends and being biassed to expand medially.
10. A probe according to claim 8 wherein the inflatable bladder has spaced sealing ribs distributed along its length.
11. A probe according to claim 8 wherein the bladder is designed to suit a particular pipe size and in use is inflated to a predetermined pressure and size at that pressure.
12. A probe according to claim 8 wherein the inflatable bladder comprises a cylindrical elastic bladder sealed airtight at opposite ends and being biassed to expand medially, the inflatable bladder having spaced sealing ribs distributed along its length.
13. A probe according to claim 8 wherein the inflatable bladder comprises a cylindrical elastic bladder sealed airtight at opposite ends and being biassed to expand medially, the bladder being designed to suit a particular pipe size and in use is inflated to a predetermined pressure and size at that pressure.
14. A probe according to claim 8 wherein the inflatable bladder has spaced sealing ribs distributed along its length, the bladder being designed to suit a particular pipe size and in use is inflated to a predetermined pressure and size at that pressure.
15. A patch applicator probe for remote patching of damaged pipes, the probe comprising an inflatable patch applicator and camera assembled in series at a distal end of a cable and hose used to feed the probe down a pipe in a feed direction and retract the probe in the opposite direction, the inflatable patch applicator comprising an elongate annular bladder surrounding the cable with the camera at the head, the camera providing an advance view in the feed direction, a tubular open ended adhesive patch surrounding the bladder and upon inflation of the bladder in situ to a predetermined pressure the bladder applies the patch and bulges out the open ends of the patch to dress the ends of the patch.
16. A probe according to claim 15 wherein the inflatable bladder comprises a cylindrical elastic bladder sealed airtight at opposite ends and being biassed to expand medially.
17. A probe according to claim 15 wherein the inflatable bladder has spaced sealing ribs distributed along its length.
18. A probe according to claim 15 wherein the bladder is designed to suit a particular pipe size and in use is inflated to a predetermined pressure and size at that pressure.
19. A probe according to claim 15 wherein the inflatable bladder comprises a cylindrical elastic bladder sealed airtight at opposite ends and being biassed to expand medially, the inflatable bladder having spaced sealing ribs distributed along its length.
20. A probe according to claim 15 wherein the inflatable bladder comprises a cylindrical elastic bladder sealed airtight at opposite ends and being biassed to expand medially, the bladder being designed to suit a particular pipe size and in use is inflated to a predetermined pressure and size at that pressure.
21. A probe according to claim 15 wherein the inflatable bladder has spaced sealing ribs distributed along its length, the bladder being designed to suit a particular pipe size and in use is inflated to a predetermined pressure and size at that pressure.
22. A system for in situ remote patching of pipes, the system comprising a flexible inflatable patch applicator probe and an adhesive applicator jig for onsite application of adhesive to the probe, the probe having a inflatable bladder and camera located at the distal end of a flexible feed cable, the jig comprising a hollow former sandwiched between the probe and patch to stabilise same while the adhesive is being applied and then being slidably removable before the patch and probe are fed into a pipe.
23. A system according to claim 22 wherein the inflatable bladder comprises a cylindrical elastic bladder sealed airtight at opposite ends and being biassed to expand medially.
24. A system according to claim 22 wherein the inflatable bladder has spaced sealing ribs distributed along its length.
25. A system according to claim 22 wherein the bladder is designed to suit a particular pipe size and in use is inflated to a predetermined pressure and size at that pressure.
26. A system according to claim 22 wherein the inflatable bladder comprises a cylindrical elastic bladder sealed airtight at opposite ends and being biassed to expand medially, the inflatable bladder having spaced sealing ribs distributed along its length.
27. A system according to claim 22 wherein the inflatable bladder comprises a cylindrical elastic bladder sealed airtight at opposite ends and being biassed to expand medially, the bladder being designed to suit a particular pipe size and in use is inflated to a predetermined pressure and size at that pressure.
28. A system according to claim 22 wherein the inflatable bladder has spaced sealing ribs distributed along its length, the bladder being designed to suit a particular pipe size and in use is inflated to a predetermined pressure and size at that pressure.
US10/530,282 2002-09-04 2003-09-04 Inflatable pipe test probe Abandoned US20060037659A1 (en)

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AU2002951189A AU2002951189A0 (en) 2002-09-04 2002-09-04 An inflatable pipe test probe
AU2002951189 2002-09-04
PCT/AU2003/001143 WO2004023088A1 (en) 2002-09-04 2003-09-04 An inflatable pipe test probe

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Cited By (10)

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US20110175996A1 (en) * 2005-09-08 2011-07-21 Ulc Robotics, Inc. Pipeline Inspection System
US20120211114A1 (en) * 2009-11-10 2012-08-23 Roranalysgruppen I Europa AB Apparatus and Method for Installing a Liner in a Pipe
US20130299191A1 (en) * 2012-05-13 2013-11-14 Folkers Eduardo Rojas Long thin structures for generating an entangled flow restricting structure
US8925590B2 (en) 2013-02-07 2015-01-06 King Fahd University Of Petroleum And Minerals Pipeline leak detection and repair device
US9739411B1 (en) * 2014-08-06 2017-08-22 The United States Of Americas As Represented By The Administrator Of The National Aeronautics And Space Administration System and method for traversing pipes
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CN112728368A (en) * 2020-12-09 2021-04-30 上海应用技术大学 A harness for marine pipeline supersound guided wave test probe system
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CN112728368A (en) * 2020-12-09 2021-04-30 上海应用技术大学 A harness for marine pipeline supersound guided wave test probe system
CN115949833A (en) * 2023-03-14 2023-04-11 山东天弘化学有限公司 Internal detection device for petroleum pipeline sealing performance and use method thereof

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